One weekend, several hundred visitors, and Europe at the centre of everything - these are the cornerstones of the EuropaCamps organised by the Zeit Foundation Bucerius , for which we have had the exciting task of enhancing the programme with interactive workshops for several years now. At the EuropaCamp, people from the most diverse backgrounds and age groups come together - ranging from retired ambassadors to experts on EU policy to sixteen-year-olds who want to learn more about the EU. The mix is colourful, just like our society. This is precisely the challenge: how do you get such a range of people to discuss issues together on an equal footing? And how do you make sure that everyone is having fun, and no-one is overwhelmed or underchallenged?

We seem to be managing quite well - at least the workshops are popular and the discussions very lively. A key aspect here is our favourite exercise, the political simulation game. Using precise role-playing materials, we take all participants to the level of knowledge they need for the simulation game and then let them make decisions themselves. This is not only fun, but also gives our participants the chance to represent very different interests and to dive deeper into the political discourse. But other formats are also used: from pub quizzes to situation rooms to the new "red thread method" on the common and parallel history/histories of the EU and Ukraine.

The second part of our concept is citizen participation. Everyone has an opinion, even if it still needs to be discovered, learned about, or nurtured. The best way to do this is to take a few playfully imparted titbits of knowledge as a basis and then engage in conversation with other people about what should change. This explains the basic formula behind our participatory discussion formats, in which a wide variety of people work together to develop demands, ideas and controversial propositions on a predefined topic. Whether it's about Europe's role in the world or about climate policy - everyone can make a valuable contribution to the discussion.

2023 was a premiere: an interactive panel designed by us, in which we brought participants and panellists together at eye level and into conversation with each other. Topic: Climate-neutral by 2050 - can we achieve this? To this end, we placed the visitors on the stage in small circles of chairs and initially got them talking to each other. After a brief introduction of the panel guests, the participants in the chair circles had enough time to talk to each other about what they had just heard and to think about questions and comments. The best thing was that the speakers went from round to round during this phase and spoke directly to the visitors. The feedback was great. 

 In 2024, we were also back at Kampnagel - with a repeat of our interactive panel. In the European election year with the key question: ‘Informing for the European elections - But how to deal with fake news and disinformation?’. The aim of the format was for participants to see themselves as an active part of the event and contribute accordingly. In addition, the ‘gap’ between panel guests and visitors was to be levelled out and lead to a dialogue more on an equal footing. After a welcome, interactive introduction and card voting, we allowed the participants to discuss and vote on two theses in their small groups. Only then did the floor go to the panellists, who briefly introduced themselves and then also answered the two theses. Then it was back to the chair circles: The participants had 10 minutes to exchange ideas on the topic, develop questions and appoint 1 speaker each, if desired. Our impression was that the format worked very well. It meant that the participants were much more active than they might otherwise have been, and that questions and impulses came from people in large and small groups who might not normally have expressed themselves at such an event. For the panellists and the moderator - according to their feedback afterwards - it was an exciting new experience with a higher quality of interaction with the participants.

Europacamp goes Democracy Festival. We look forward to being there in April 2025 with exciting formats. #StayTuned